Your Chicago Digital Exhibition

In 2022, high school Juniors and Seniors from Prosser Career Academy in Chicago’s Belmont Cragin neighborhood worked with documentary photographer Carlos Javier Ortiz and educator Erin Jiminez to create still images and photographs portraying the topic of “My Chicago.” This is a digital exhibition of their work.

Still photography works by Juniors

Image Gallery

Jocelyn C, 2022, “For me, Chicago is a city where in almost every neighborhood you can feel the air or the vibe, and could guess what kind of people live in the area. No matter the class, these neighborhoods contain houses that are uniquely beautiful in their own way. These pictures represent a glimpse in my daily life and how I view the city I live in.”

Leonardo M, “I photographed some of my favorite street food spots in my neighborhood. I captured images of the lights and neon signs gleaming during the winter nights. I photographed the faded colors of the signs, letters and banners to emphasize the longevity of Chicago’s Mexican street food locations in my community.”

Mariabelen G, “For this project, I wanted to take pictures of my neighborhood that I have been to or walked past my whole life because of how I’ve always lived in Logan Square ever since I was born. I like how the graffiti wall adds imagination/creativity/color to Logan Square.”

Nyanissa A, “In my Chicago there’s peace in the small places. In my Chicago people are creative and different. In my Chicago there’s wonderful things about the small things.”

Teshawna C, “I took images of places that define my neighborhood. These are places that my neighbors visit on a daily basis to shop, eat, and be with family. When I photograph this I made sure to leave everything in the photos so it could be authentic and raw. It shows the beauty of the place I live.”

Tyanna L, “I wanted to show how I feel everyone sees my neighborhood. I wanted to show the feeling of my neighborhood being very beat up and dingy. And I wanted to show a stable that you see every time you come around where I live. Overall I wanted to incorporate the feeling of my neighborhood with showing details and things I see when I walk.”

Ashley A, “I wanted to take photos of places I’m familiar with in my daily life. I love the sounds of the train and it adds life to the area around. The fourth picture is one of my favorite places near my house for the view during the sunset after I arrive home from school. The greenery around makes me at peace.”

Daniela G, “My Chicago is a place of exploration. Going to many different and known places in order to find new things. While not being alone due to the fact of having others around is fun. Even though they don’t show up in my photos, I always have someone to enjoy these walks and drives with.”

Image by Prosser Career Academy student Carlos R for Art, Activism, Policy, Power, 2022

Aulani R, “In these photos I showed my everyday life in my city. My city is very busy all the time. We have a lot of culture around which makes me feel more connected to home and Chicago. In my pictures I have a family owned shop. I have a church building to show how Chicago is very open to religions. I have a fun picture that shows our modern houses in Chicago. Then the Metra train that represents our Commuter rail system of Chicago.”

Aria H, “I wanted to show different aspects of my community. We work to keep our neighborhood clean and uniform. My sister and neighbors are skating together. I feel like this picture displays how close our community is. Public transportation is important in my community because many of us are low income households and can’t afford to drive or be driven often(or at all). All these pictures show what make us the healthy community we are.”

Omar Martinez, “I passed through Humboldt Park and took a picture of a Puerto Rican food truck. They were about to close so I asked for permission to take a picture, and they gave me free food which was nice. Then I was walking under the Allies, and I saw a cartoon mural that I thought was cool, and finally I found a cool looking music store that was closing down, and I thought it would make a great picture.”

Inesia C, “II took these pictures as I was driving downtown on Friday. I thought that these were a few pictures that would represent Chicago because of being places that have the most people. I took pics of a 2D restaurant and a bar for the LGBTQ society.”

Adriana H, “This is my neighborhood, it might not be the prettiest but it’s ‘My Chicago.’ In the winter you’ll see dirty snow but you will also see a beautiful sunset. In the fall, you’ll find leaves EVERYWHERE because no one bothers to clean them up, my neighbors say, ”wait for the wind to blow them away.’ In my neighborhood, you’ll find many local businesses. They are started by locals and supported by locals. People here are supportive and love making new friends.”

Criss S, “The first image is a photo under a bridge taken inside a vehicle. The second image was another taken inside a car. The third was the tall skyscrapers and the last photo was a picture inside the field museum. The whole point of the project was to say how dingy and dirty a place can be, but it can show a few of its colors every once in a while.”

Deziray A, “I wanted to show what Chicago means to me. I wanted to show the neighborhood aspect and how the community can be beautiful. I really wanted to show my favorite parts and aspects of the city by showing the beautiful scenery you can find in downtown.”

Fatima L, “I wanted to show everything in my community and kind of show a contrast. Since it was the fall season I really wanted the yellows and oranges to pop. I also like the way that the light shining brightly on one side and the other is darker. It was kind of challenging to get good pictures because there was barely any people walking around. Overall I just wanted to show areas that I have walked by for many years.”

Natalie G, “These pictures I took weren’t necessarily from my neighborhood, but it’s still from Chicago. I don’t remember much of the car ride, (let alone where this location is) but it was a decent drive with my family that were running errands. I think it’s funny that the car ride ended with target, cause target is like the most Chicago thing to do, if you’re not near downtown that is.”

Rafael M, “These picture are my Chicago because I love going place. There is a lot of fun and happiness at these places.”

Kyle G, “I choose to use photos of alleyways to show what Chicago can be. To show Chicago’s artistic side. I choose use the picture of the train to show how popular transportation is in Chicago. I choose the picture of the park to show the beauty of Chicago.”

Vivian J, “I chose to take the first picture around inside the car because that’s how I get around in my Chicago. I feel at home when I’m with friends and exploring with them because I love exploring in my city. I go out in the morning to see the sun rise.”

The MoCP is supported by Columbia College Chicago, the MoCP Advisory Board, the Museum Council, individuals, and private and corporate foundations. The 2022-2023 season of Arts, Activism, Policy, Power is generously sponsored by the Philip and Edith Leonian Foundation.

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Arts, Activism, Policy, Power: Your Chicago

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